APBoston Red Sox starter Daisuke Matsuzaka looks down at his pitching hand between innings against the Florida Marlins during a spring training baseball game in Fort Myers, Saturday, March 5, 2011. Matsuzaka allowed seven runs, five earned, and six hits in his three inning appearance. Matsuzaka took the loss in the 11-2 Marlin's win

He was enamored with how the right-handed pitcher showed up to camp in the best shape he has ever seen him in with an attitude to match, both of which are elements the manager views as precursors for future success.

“I think he’s shown that he wants it,” Francona said. “It’s easy to say stuff when you guys ask questions -- when a guy shows up and looks like that it says a lot more than words can.”

Matsuzaka struggled with his command, fell into an early hole and sunk deeper as he tried to navigate his way out. He pitched three innings, gave up seven runs, five earned, walked two and struck out one.

It’s often said that the way a pitcher throws is far more important than the result during the spring, but the righty could defend neither when speaking through a translator following his outing.

“The result is not as good as I expected,” Matsuzaka said. “The good thing would be if the result and performance would be the same.”

Matsuzaka said he used Saturday to work on his breaking pitches and in his next outing he’ll pitch as he would during the regular season.

Known for his plodding pace and often criticized for nibbling at the corners, Matsuzaka also said that he is working to become more efficient.

“I’d like to pound the zone more,” his translator relayed.

“Arm strength, pounding the zone – if you throw strikes you’re going to do OK,” Francona echoed. “We’re trying to get him to work quick, throw strikes and keep the ball down.”

That wasn’t the case against the Marlins as he threw 55 pitches over his three innings, 33 of which went for strikes.

The pitcher fell into a 3-0 hole in the first inning and sank to 5-0 when Florida centerfielder Dewayne Wise laced a hanging curveball on a 2-2 pitch to right field for a two-run homer in the second.

A double by third baseman Matt Dominguez in the third made it 7-0.

“He didn’t put anyone away, he got into deep counts,” Francona said. “There were some things that you want in spring and not in the regular season, that way there’s some things to talk about.”

Still, Francona sees reason for optimism if for no other reason besides him being healthy and in camp, which wasn’t the case last year.

After missing all of camp and sitting out until May 1 with a back ailment, Matsuzaka struggled to get into a rhythm last year and finished the season 9-6 with a 4.69 ERA and 1.80 WHIP, while striking out 7.8 batters per nine innings, the lowest mark of his career.

Those numbers were considered a disappointment, but all the team wants is for Matsuzaka to make incremental improvements and become more consistent.

They don’t need him to repeat his 2008 performance where he 18-3 with a 2.90 ERA, and the pressure for him to do so no longer exists with the emergence of Clay Buchholz and Jon Lester solidifying himself as a legitimate ace.

All the team is looking for is a reliable, back of the rotation starter.